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Modernism in America – Part 2 While Modernism throughout Latin America and Africa draw similar comparison to the same style seen in the United States, Asia and the Pacific put their own cultural spin on Modernism. These cultural changes can be seen throughout countries like Japan, Australia, Thailand, and Cambodia. Japan Frank Lloyd Wright, Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan When modernism first arrived in Japan, it was not easily adapted because previous styles consisted of traditional paintings, garden designs, and timber construction. However, modernism’s focus on concrete, steel, and glass was still unattractive to the Japanese because of its correlation to the West. Japan started to modernize on its own through the path of industrialization and urbanization. One of the most notable works is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel, located in Tokyo, because of its inspiring furniture designs specifically. Kazuo Shinohari, House in Yokohama, Japan Kazuo Shinohari was also a prominent ...

Rise of the Decorator It is safe to say that many people, not of the architecture and design world, assume that interior designers are a profession that formed as a branch of architecture. In reality, that is not how it happened and unfortunately, no one makes the necessary contradictions to this assumption. That’s what this section of our chapter from this week clears the air on. The book, History of Furniture by Mark Hinchmann, puts it best when it explains that, “[i]nterior decorating, being a profession, proceeds from different directions from that predicted by the work of architects also involved in producing traditionally styled houses.” Elsie de Wolfe Elsie de Wolfe is viewed as the pioneer professional interior decorating for many reasons, one of which includes the work she did on a project with Stanford White on the interior of the Colony Club in New York. Wolfe relied heavily on her social connections, especially when she moved to France and met Van Dan Truex. She was ...

  Art Deco and Industrial Design The abbreviation “Art Deco” is used to explain the design trend that came about from the exposition and has only been used since the 60s. Within the Art Deco time period, there were two groups: the functionalists and the decorators. Both these groups went about responding to the time period, however, they did so in quite different manners. Functionalists and Decorators The designs of the functionalists were aimed toward mass production and focused extensively on the social good that design could achieve. These made it possible for them to emphasize the values of engineering and assembly-line construction. On the other hand, the decorators focused on crafting exquisite objects that were far more labor intensive and aimed at an elite market. Additionally, they focused on not being burdened by a belief in the redemptive obligations of art. Art Deco – Britain When discussing Art Deco in a country such as Britain, it is nearly impossible to ove...

  Chapter 19: Art Nouveau – Part 2 Art Nouveau is a style that, in my opinion, is frequently overlooked but one of the most effective pieces of art history. The term itself means “new art” and with things that are new, comes change and in most cases throughout history change effects where we are at today. The urge for new art came from the belief that artistic forms should take their inspiration from nature. A lot of these details are seen around the world in places like France and Spain. France France was known as the arts center of Europe, with Paris as the focal point. It’s support towards artists with an ambitious exhibition schedule led many artists to look for work in such a place. Many cities contributed to the movement; however, one stands among the rest: Nancy. Nancy was seen as the artistic and intellectual arena. Emile Galle, who was known as one of the foremost glassmakers, potters, and furniture designers within Nancy, made use of organic forms and unusual mate...

  Chapter 20: Protomodernism (pt.1) A lot of the pieces of this time period aesthetically straddle the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They are known as transitional pieces that contain the seeds of modernism, some of which are predictive and achieve a new sensibility. Artists during this time period shared the belief that decorative motifs are carriers of meaning and not necessarily antithetical to artistic expression. Decoration was more enhanced at this time, as opposed to masking it. Some of these artists were part of the avant-garde which refers to any group of artists who are experimental or unorthodox. This meant those who experimented with forms and ideas prior to them being widely accepted.  Vienna Succession The Vienna Succession building with Klimt's frieze. The design revolution - the Vienna Succession - appeared during a period that incorporated significant achievements in multiple fields of art. The artists during this time were known to withdr...

  Chapter 19: Art Nouveau – Part 1 Art Nouveau is a style that, in my opinion, is frequently overlooked but one of the most effective pieces of art history. The term itself means “new art” and with things that are new, comes change and in most cases throughout history change effects where we are at today. The urge for new art came from the belief that artistic forms should take their inspiration from nature. Key artists expressed such beliefs during the time like William Morris. Morris and Ruskin A commitment to the unity of arts was derived from Morris. He believed that this unity was a product of abolishing the distinction between major and minor arts. Like most Art Nouveau artists, it is expected that Morris also rejected Victorian design because of “its throng of souvenirs, its eclecticism, and its promiscuous combination of historical styles” (pg. 432). In contrast, the majority of artistic themes displayed throughout the Art Nouveau period stemmed from the Arts and Craf...